Hi there,
My name is Ivan Velinov. While attending
graduate school in 2009, I began photographing strangers—mostly homeless
people. Occasionally, I also collected their stories. It brought me back to my
own childhood when I found solace during my parents’ messy divorce by talking
to strangers, particularly those who were struggling like my family. When my
father’s health worsened in 2010, I felt the lifelong dream of redeeming my family’s
failures and difficult past start to slip away. I began to fall behind in my
graduate studies, and eventually plunged into severe depression. The only thing
I could do was talk to strangers: in their stories, I found healing,
inspiration, and purpose. After leaving graduate school, I dedicated
my life solely to photographing strangers and sharing their stories.
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In early 2013, I started the blog Portraits of Boston. For a year and a
half, I commuted daily to and from Boston—a four to five hour drive, round
trip. In the summer of 2014, I decided to take the project on the road. It is
now Portraits of America. I drive across the country, usually sleeping in a car
I rent or someone lends to me. I approach people in small towns and big cities,
on their porches or farms, in town squares, fast food places, on the side of
the road….everywhere. I look for spontaneous initial encounters that offer a
deep connection and long conversation. I have already photographed more than
2,000 people in almost 30 states.
Including my prior daily commute to
Boston, I have now driven almost 100,000 miles for Portraits of America. I strongly believe in the importance of
sharing stories, and since its inception I have financed 100% of the project.
But after two years of
self-financing, I have reached a wall. After exhausting my life savings, I took
out loans, used credit cards, and even borrowed cars from friends. Though I’ve
tried to minimize expenses through an ascetic lifestyle—sleeping in cars and
subsisting mostly on canned sardines and coffee—I can no longer continue
financially.
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Rather than a temporary endeavor,
this blog has become a lifelong pursuit, and is now followed by hundreds of
thousands of people. With every state I visit, and with every conversation I
have, the importance of discovering people’s stories in diverse places is
reaffirmed. The blog is completely free—ad-free, subscription-free,
donation-free—yet consistently hosts new images and stories, seven days a week.
It takes hundreds of hours of work, and thousands of dollars each month.
This fundraiser will
enable me to purchase a reliable car, cover basic travel expenses and necessities, and provide
stability for the project for the foreseeable future.
Even if you can't afford to make any financial contribution, you can still help by sharing this fundraiser with family and friends. Thank you for your support!
